Cyberbullying, it's a real thing!

I would absolutely hate to grow up today with the pervasive use of technology. Being a teenager was hard enough without iPhones, iPads, texting, tweeting, FB, Instagram, Snapchat, you name it. We had payphones and answering machines. If you missed a party, you missed a party. You didn't have to see the party pics as it was happening. You didn't have to feel excluded from all the fun it appeared your friends were having without you. Being a good digital citizen comes with a lot of responsibility and maturity that today's youth don't yet possess. Queue Cyberbullying.  Unfortunately, it happens. It's real. Sometimes it's accidental but usually, it is very intentional and very hurtful. I've lived through it as a parent, as a teacher, as a neighbor, as a friend and I'll tell you what it never gets any easier. I loved this assignment and being able to revisit cyberbullying and retune my awareness and understanding of it.

Cyberbullying

Move over HGTV, here I come...

I love rearranging. I live in a house that doesn't support the reorganization of furniture so I get to relive my childhood hobby by rearranging my classroom. This project of designing a functional classroom was right up my alley. I found it to be very satisfying. As a teacher, I do monthly desk reorganization to mix it up and then every other month or two I do a whole room rehaul. The kids love it and it feels like Christmas morning! This project really allowed me to think about my dream room and what I'd love to have. My favorite addition is a stationary bike and exercise balls. I know after a long day of sitting and listening to professional development, I'd love to sit on a bike and move a little bit! I have some antsy pantsies that would benefit from the freedom of movement! I also loved being able to design the locations of the power outlets and design a technology zone!

EEND-680 21st Century Ed Leadership Reflection

My biggest takeaway from this class is the power of observation. I was moved by the #observeme movement and even volunteered to have my teammate observe me and participate in my formal evaluation cycle for her Type 75 certification program. It was very liberating to open myself up to critique from my peer and welcome her to my pre/post-conference meetings with my principal.  I enjoyed creating a google form and becoming the evaluator and watching my teammates as well. It really gave me perspective on what principals have to do during our evaluation cycles.

Teacher Observation Google Form

I was really challenged by planning a 30 minute, online, self-paced professional development on the introduction of Twitter. I incorporated some tricks that we've learned through this journey and linked a few slides in my presentation. I am glad that I have more tools in my toolbox because of this curriculum. I was inspired to do this self-paced training on Twitter based on our Capstone Project and asking teachers to use Twitter. I remember how resistant we were at the beginning of this program and how far we've all come. I thought that these "baby steps" into Twitter would be a good first start!

Twitterific

Capstone Project update

The realization that this is a huge undertaking has hit me when I think of how hard it is motivating people to do anything out of their normal day-to-day expectations. The real struggle became glaringly apparent how hard it was to motivate teachers in our district when we were asked to show up to support the negotiations committee by showing up to a board meeting wearing red. I thought there would be hordes of people, a sea of red, a sheer force to be reckoned with, but it wasn't. There were many that showed up in support of the negotiation team and the hard work put in to fight for our contract rights, but not as many as you would think. The level of return on investment should've been very high. This is our salary, insurance, and vacation that we're talking about and still, only about 1/3 of teachers showed up. SO, this gets me to the Capstone Project. How in the world are we going to get investment and teacher buy-in when there is zero return on investment? Incentives are great but we can't really offer anything of much value. Here is a digital badge, or sticker? Somehow we have to figure out a way to make it fun and easy to do. We have to get some buy-in from staff and hopefully encourage a decent level of competition and hopefully turn the spotlight on something encouraging during this bleak negotiation time.
Another struggle is the size of the group. It's tough to motivate a whole class to invest in a project. I like how we broke into smaller more manageable sized groups. From there we must rely on good faith that each group is holding their own and contributing to the success of the project.
I'm excited to see how this all plays out and to hopefully inspire some healthy competition among the grade level teams!

679 Course Reflection

This assessment class has pushed me so far out of my comfort zone. I had some very eye-opening moments and feel like Module 5 was the hardest for me to digest. Gradeless teaching made me feel so uncomfortable yet so exhilarated and I was so comforted by my classmates feeling the same way which I found out through shared discussions. One resource that stuck with me was the video with Sal Khan (He's my favorite) and I just absolutely loved his message about teaching for mastery and his analogy with house building. When he speaks, he is so clear and concise and I respect him so much. That analogy will be repeated in my classroom and shared with my students. I want them to take part in their learning and have an understanding of the goals we set and why it's important to see progress and not move on until we are ready. 
I have grown tremendously throughout this class and have filled my toolbox with great ideas to further enhance my students learning. I also think that my data collection will improve in the future and I will take several data points to inform my instruction and I will not be so crazed by the numbers and their implications...maybe that comes with experience! I will continue my learning but using gaming to further learning outcomes, using clear and concise rubrics, teaching my students to set goals and helping them construct a road map to success. The use of badges excites me and will help to further motivate my students to feel the success of their accomplishments!

This is the badge I have awarded myself for completing this challenging and interesting class! 

Show me your badge! 📛

I like when things are easy. Sometimes things are not easy, but it's always good for teachers to remember that feeling of awkwardness and having to work hard at something so that we can be more empathetic educators. Many of these assignments pushed me outside of my comfort zone but I feel like I grew and worked through that feeling of using my left hand as a natural rightie!
Gradeless teaching was eye-opening as was Kathy Schrock's massive collection of rubrics, but the assignment of Creating a Digital Badge and Digital Badge Pathway in Module 4 was my favorite. I found this to be very practical and something I will use in my classroom next year. I aligned the assignment to the RACE writing strategy that we use in 5th grade. Since I already do this in my classroom, I felt this was where technology can enhance what I am already doing. It was very fun to design the badge and I will be excited to create more to help build a digital pathway to mastery! This digital pathway is very logical to me and I think will help students visualize expectations and plan, prepare and pace themselves accordingly. There were many great learning moments, this one just really stuck with me!

“Truly wonderful the mind of a child is.” — Yoda

Dive deeper into mastery with me and my friend Yoda because everything sounds better when Yoda says it! To translate for those that don't speak Yoda: The mind of a child is a truly wonderful thing. This resonates with mastery in the classroom because while each child's mind is truly wonderful, not every mind operates the same, moves at the same pace, understands the same content or processes information the same way. Differentiation comes to mind as we need to meet each student where they are at and meet their individual needs. However, this ideology falls apart when we look at our current system of education.

In the TED Talk, "Let's Teach for Mastery, Not Test Scores," Sal Khan (My 2nd favorite behind Yoda) offers an amazing analogy at building a house in reference to mastery. You would not move to the first floor of building a house if the foundation wasn't fully set. You certainly would not move on to the second story if the foundation wasn't set AND the first floor was only 80% finished.

So why do we move students along when they have not fully mastered the material? I see this very often in our math classes. We lecture, give homework, go over homework the next day, lecture some more, more homework and so on for a few weeks until the assessment is given. If a student has earned an 80% they kind of celebrate - hey I got a B. What about that 20% of material they didn't show mastery on?  This is going to rear it's head again. Even the 95% test earner still shows that 5% is unlearned. We are creating educational gaps that will bite these students hard, later on in their schooling. We need to be patient and wait out the curricular demands and pacing schedules and help students master the information before introducing something new.

Sal was speaking directly to me, as he normally does, when he mentions students who experienced learning gaps and attributed them to the "I don't have the math gene" and "I can't learn this" as excuses. This WAS me as a student and then as an adult it all changed when I matured and persevered. I loved mastering math and teaching math to students who feel like they just don't get it!
Now I just wish it wasn't a race the to the finish line!

Patience, you must have. - Yoda

Photo credit: Sal Khan and Yoda

Effective Tech Integration

It's clear that technology is becoming the norm of expectations in the classroom but just because we use technology in our classrooms it doesn't mean it's good. I have enjoyed learning about the effective integration of technology and utilizing different tools and strategies to help my students become responsible and active digital citizens in my classroom. 

A few highlights for me are:

The grant writing assignment. This is practical learning that will help me in the future. I enjoyed practicing this skill and being pushed out of my comfort zone by asking for something and proving that it is necessary and meets certain criteria beyond,  just want to do this!

Planning the professional learning experience was WAY harder than I thought it would be. It required much deeper introspection into the goals of the experience while incorporating some fun and taking the best of what I have learned in class and applying it to real life. Truly eye-opening!

The growth I experienced in this class is huge! The above-mentioned projects and the PBL/UBD assignment were big and overwhelming but I was able to push myself and grow!!  I feel much more confident in my ability to plan a unit and integrate technology effectively to benefit my students the most!

Multimedia Magic

I have long been a fan of multimedia and enjoy audiobooks, podcasts, video and visually pleasing materials. This class however opened my eyes to bringing all of these interests together into my classroom and my instruction. Why have I been constrained by the walls of curricular expectations and direct instruction while the non-teacher in me has enjoyed all of these other multimedia mediums? It's not that I didn't do any of it, I think I did things and didn't exactly realize what I was doing. 

I have grown as an educator by trying new things and exposing my students to new videos, audio clips and introducing them to podcasts! I will continue to improve my video skills and speaking through audio skills. I will continue to try new methods of sharing information with parents to keep them engaged and informed as well.

My favorite learned skill was the use of Quicktime. Why has this clever app been hiding in the files of my MacBook forever without any use? It is simple and effective and it's multipurpose use make it a front runner in my go to apps!

What's even better than me learning all of this is the fact that my students will benefit as well and that makes me a better educator!

Learning curves

For every time something goes right, the pendulum must swing so that sometimes it is is bound to go wrong. Making our book/trailer advertisement was a lesson in frustration for me. I tried a new video making tool called Vyond. I put a lot of time an effort into the video that I intended to use a launch to our new science unit. The time spent creating it versus the 2 minute video final product was impractical. It was also very crushing that when I went to upload my video Vyond asked for me to purchase an annual subscription $79.99. I, of course, was not about to pay that for a 2 minute video. I contacted Vyond and was told that I should read the trial agreement (in fine print) that the trail is not meant to publish pieces, but a sample of what Vyond can do. UGH!  I accepted that my video would have a watermark stamped on it forever. I showed my 2 science classes and gave them the background story and the lesson learned here is know what tools you are using so that you don't get burned in the end. I also thought this was a fun and engaging way to kick off a new unit but I will use Apple clips or another video program next time!

Screencasting...all the cool kids are doing it!

I have watched so many screencasts (Thanks, Sal Kahn) but never knew how to do it myself. This is my new favorite tool and I will be doing it again in my classroom. The learning curve was not steep and it was a seamless transition to me making my first screencast. I think the biggest benefit is in the scaffolding that it provides to students when learning a new skill especially those who are visual learners, like me! The only problem I found was not rambling on and that is not one of my strengths. I also found out the hard way that you don't want to make a mistake at the end of the video and have to reshoot the entire screencast. It was fun to do, an engaging and helpful tool, and really easy to do.

I've attached a copy of my screencast that shows how to use the amazing SeeSaw activity library.

Pretty To Look At

Graphic design is easily taken for granted but can make such a difference in the classroom. Students are drawn to colorful, bright, aesthetically pleasing images, aren't we all? Because our students all learn differently a well-created infographic can make all the difference in the world for the visual learners in the classroom. It can draw them into content and get them hooked into engagement. And being just like my 5th graders, I did not carefully read the instructions of Module 5 so I created an infographic on Picktochart. We are entering IAR/PARCC season and I thought this little flyer would help students prep for test taking. It was really fun to make and who doesn't love bulldogs, french toast, meditation, and babies. I am in for graphic design and getting our students excited!!

 

You spin me right round baby, right round...

This could be the coolest tool I have ever been introduced to. Flippity is SO cool. I immediately put it into action to pick partners for some decimal war in math class. SO EASY and I look like a genius.   Partners, trios, quads, teams etc. I can do it all in one click. Such a great site!

So I love this site for the functionality but now I have to introduce the new man I admire. I introduced him to my husband and he does too. Thanks for the introduction to the kindest and most intelligent man. Simon, you might be Superman. His logic is sound and he offers safe and sensible solutions for technology use. I have three teenage girls and overuse is a problem at my house. Three cheers for Simon!!!

Simon Sinek

FlipChart, I mean FlipGrid. Am I showing my age?

I brought in a new technology piece to 5th grade. Problem is, I can't get the name straight. What is with my brain? The students are even starting to laugh at me, I continually call it FlipChart. Ugh! FlipGrid is awesome. It was easy to learn because it is very user friendly and very intuitive. Setting up classroom connections was very easy to do and the kids hit the ground running. They REALLY liked adding emojis and flare to their videos, I even had some students film in front of the green screen for very cool special effects. My favorite learning leap was figuring out how to make a "mix-tape" something I was very skilled at in the 80's and was able to blend videos into one to make a cohesive video. All said, Flipgrid is fun and engaging for students and even their name forgetting teacher!

She dropped a PHOTO bomb on me, baby!

5th graders and their mostly fearless leader are learning a new collaborative platform called FlipGrid which I keep calling FlipChart which I fear might be showing my age. FlipGrid is a very cool collaborative tool that we are practicing before we leave our district and venture out into the real world called Downers Grove for my end of unit project. It's a brave new world! I am enjoying watching the kids sharing their favorite book. I did end up photobombing one of my students' post so I used it as a teachable moment...you should film in a quiet space, without any distractions especially your hyperactive teacher who may ruin your post. At least we got a good laugh when I used his post as an example of what not to do! FlipGrid allows you to post a question or topic that each student will respond to via video or audio only  for 1-1.5 minutes. It was very easy to set up and simple for the students to execute so learning time was minimal. This could be used for countless ideas. Students could record themselves reading a passage for fluency, explain the steps for a math problem, collaborate with peers in the building, in the district or anywhere in the world. Learning for their peers and being inspired by your best friend's book review is a great way to bring technology into the classroom.